Verbs are the words in a sentence that narrate the action; they tell you what is going on.
The endings of a French verb correspond to a specific subject. Once you learn these endings, you will be ready to speak complete French sentences!
The infinitive of a verb is its simplest form, the starting point before it is conjugated or changed to correspond to a specific subject.
The present tense describes actions that are happening now, reports current conditions or traits, describes customary events, and also announces what may be happening in the immediate future.
There are three infinitive endings: –ER, –IR, and –RE. Each one has its own set of endings.
Here are the full conjugations of three regular verbs in the present tense:
| PARLER (to speak) | FINIR (to finish) | ENTENDRE (to hear) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | je parle | je finis | j’entends |
| you (familiar) |
tu parles | tu finis | tu entends |
| he / she / one | il / elle / on parle | il / elle / on finit | il / elle / on entend |
| we | nous parlons | nous finissons | nous entendons |
| you (plural / formal) |
vous parlez | vous finissez | vous entendez |
| they (m./f.) |
ils / elles parlent | ils / elles finissent | ils / elles entendent |
* Subsequent conjugations will not list “on.” Just remember “on” is conjugated like “il” and “elle.”
The following list contains some of the most frequently used verbs in the French language. All of these verbs follow the conjugation patterns presented above. Although you do not need to know the meanings of all these words just yet, you will be practicing them throughout this book. In time, they will become old friends.
| -ER | -IR | -RE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| aimer (to like, to love) | jouer (to play) | choisir (to choose) | attendre (to wait) |
| chanter (to sing) | laver (to wash) | désobéir (to disobey) | défendre (to forbid) |
| continuer (to continue) | manger* (to eat) | finir (to finish) | descendre (to go down) |
| danser (to dance) | marcher (to walk) | grandir (to grow) | perdre (to lose) |
| demander (to ask) | parler (to speak) | maigrir (to lose weight) | répondre (to answer) |
| écouter (to listen) | passer (to spend time) | obéir (to obey) | rendre (to give back) |
| entrer (to go in) | pleurer (to cry) | punir (to punish) | vendre (to sell) |
| étudier (to study) | préparer (to prepare) | réussir (to succeed) | |
| fermer (to close) | regarder (to look) | rougir (to blush) | |
| gagner (to win) | travailler (to work) | ||
| habiter (to live) | |||
*The “nous” form of the verb “manger” is irregular: “nous mangeons.”
